Research Trip Diary 14th June
View from the Ridge Just before I was due to give my presentations at the reception I was introduced to a man called Mark Hoffman (he's sat on the front row of seats on the picture of the reception in the last post). He was contacted about the event just this...
Research Trip Diary 14th June
A Civic Reception The reception is at the newly built impressive Civic Centre conveniently just across the road from the diner and with similar extensive windows, giving a perfect view of Tollgate Rock and the Palisades. It is a gathering of around twenty people and...
Research Trip Diary 14th June
A Day to Remember So here it is, the final day in Green River. Later there is going to be a civic reception for our visit, held by The Arts Council here. All my communication regarding this have been with Jeriemy Gomez, the Vice Chair of the Arts Council and, after a...
Research Trip Diary 13th June
Observations This is desert country but I can't help thinking the view from the RV window of some scrub hills is a bit like the West Pennines moors near Bolton and a heavy rain shower adds to this effect. The day is spent searching out the best and most accessible...
Research Trip Diary 12th June
What Moran Saw? We arrive in Green River late in the day, both playing a game of trying to spot the Cliffs from Moran's work. There are a number of similar features on the eastern approach and towering over the houses on the main street too. But, as we mistakenly...
Research Trip Diary 12th June
Yellow Canyon, Blue Skies, Green River With great memories of the road journey on the first day still fresh, a slightly different route down state to Green River is decided upon. Eventually, after a few hours through Yellowstone and the Tetons again, we reach Route...
Research Trip Diary 12th June
Tie a Yellow Ribbon As a final farewell we agree to get up very early and watch the sunrise on Artists point at the Canyon, on the short drive there we are rewarded with our first sight of a wolf crossing the road and then a vision of glowing white against the woods....
Research Trip Diary 11th June
Best Laid Plans Leaving Mammoth we head for Tower Falls(spotting the first black bear of the trip, from the safety of the RV picture to follow), Moran painted a number of works at the falls and arriving I recognise the stone spires through which a surge of white water...
Research Trip Diary 10th June
A Mammoth Undertaking A mention is long overdue for the number of brilliant visitors centres around the Park, they are free and a perfect place to drop in for well presented history and geology, also advice from experienced rangers about safety and the best hikes....
Research Trip Diary 9th June
Another World On the way down to Old Faithful we passed a number of other geological curiosities, so we decided to make an extended journey back to the campground taking time to see some of these on the way. The first was a couple of pools, (I'd say each around ninety...
Research Trip Diary 9th June
Faithfully Yours So in a region of unpredictability it's not a surprise to find something which has come to represent the very definition of predictability, give or take a minute. We decided to venture down to the South Western region, of the park and perhaps the most...
Research Trip Diary 8th June
The Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone If there is one painting which sealed Moran's place in the History of America and its Art then it has to be his depiction of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was 12ft by 6ft and the jewel in the crown of his work from the Hayden...
Research Trip Dairy 7th June
Journey of the Unexpected We passed the Tetons one last time heading North to the South entrance of Yellowstone. The route up to the Park could and should have taken about three hours but as we're discovering it is impossible not to break the journey, at points which...
Research Trip Diary 6th June
Fame and Names Heading North from the Cathedral Group we decided to visit Mount Moran today. It's a reminder of how much affection was afforded to Moran that one of the Tetons still bears his name. It was Hayden who gave the painter this honour during a follow up to...
Research Trip Diary 5th June
The National Museum of Wildlife Art A visit to the National Museum of Wildlife Art (http://www.wildlifeart.org/mobile/) was high on my list of priorities on this phase of the trip. It came highly recommended by people who know the area well and is an outstanding...
Research Trip Diary 5th June
Grand Indeed In the last couple of days we've had a number of hikes at the base of the Tetons(pronounced teetons), this dramatic range which sit just beneath Yellowstone on the Western edge of Wyoming. These formidable mountains eluded Moran on the Hayden expedition...
Research Trip Diary 3rd June
Plains Lanes and Automobiles "Salt Lake to Jackson" Copyright Andrew Hodgson 2013
Research Trip Diary 3rd June
Chasing the Sky We've just arrived at the first "base camp", which is an apartment set amid the Teton Mountain range in Teton Village, a ski and sports resort near Jackson in Wyoming. Travel has strange contrasts, the overwhelming sense of wanting to get somewhere...
Map One
This the first attempt to try and give an overview of where the key areas of the project will take place. I'll be using the symbols as reference as we move around over the trip and hopefully will be able to give much more detail when we're on the ground.
Research Trip Diary 27th May
"We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." John Steinbeck, from "Travels with Charley" Great Expectations So there's around one week until we leave for America, the point at which everyone starts to say "you'll be there this time...
Introduction Part Three
Viewfinders A young photographer named William Henry Jackson was also asked to join the Hayden survey. In the determined hands of Jackson, this unpredictable and fledgling technology didn't just take its first steps; it climbed mountains! He Who Shares Wins Jackson...
Introduction Part Two
A New World After leaving the train in Green River Thomas Moran would go on to join the Hayden Geological Survey of Yellowstone 1871, the expedition would present a moment of destiny, both for the artist and for the United States. Maps and Visions In the wake of a...
Introduction Part One
What's the Big Idea? In 1871 a young artist named Thomas Moran stepped off a train in the small town of Green River in Southern Wyoming(USA). I can only imagine what he must have felt as he first gazed on the cliffs featured in his painting, below, a first vision of...